Tech Talk / By Martha Knight

Oh no! It’s a disaster! You spilled your coffee on your laptop (or your keyboard). It is doomed!

What a waste of coffee! And the laptop is doomed.  Or, maybe not. If you have good reflexes, you turned that laptop (or that keyboard) upside, immediately. On your lap, on the wastebasket, maybe even over the floor.

Shouldn’t you close everything down first? No, don’t take the time for that. Splash, flip. Right now.

After that, with the laptop or keyboard still upside down, unplug the cable(s). Wireless keyboards might not have cables, of course.

Anything else, detach all cables, pull out anything swappable such as an optical drive or a flash card or a flash drive. First thing to detach? The power cord. Since the laptop is upside down, you can access the battery compartment easily. Open it and take out the battery.

Keep liquid away from an LCD screen. Blot any that might have landed there, using a soft paper towel like Sparkle or Viva.

When no more liquid has dripped out for quite a while, either get the poor laptop, still inverted, to a computer fixer person quickly (be sure to take your power adapter along), or, if you have some computer hardware skills, unscrew the outer case.

Leave the system as open as possible for several days. Don’t expose it to much heat, or use a hair dryer or put it near a fan.

If after that the reassembled laptop doesn’t boot, you may be able to salvage your data by pulling the hard drive. It can be connected to another system using an adapter for that purpose. Or it can be installed in a little case with a USB connection and used as an external drive.

If you are experienced and brave enough to try cleaning out the inside more, put some circuit cleaner on another towel and dab at the components and connections. Most users would be better off letting the fixer person do that, though.

Prevention being better than cure by a ratio of 16:1, we know it’s better to keep beverages away from the computer. There are membranes that can be put over keyboards to make them waterproof, but any I have tried interfere with key action to some degree.

Actually, compressed air can help clean and maintain keyboards in normal use, and cotton swabs moistened with alcohol or specialized swabs for electronics can help get crumbs and dust out from between keys. A smooth plastic toothpick run through the canyons and crevasses is worthwhile It’s also a good idea to turn the keyboard upside down and beat on the bottom, every so often. Do this over a newspaper. It’s amazing how much debris can collect in a keyboard!

Some years ago the EUM minister, Hugh McKnight used to come to my office late Saturday night, to do the bulletin for the next morning’s service. I would get the PageMaker template for that order of worship all set up for him, and he would begin plugging in the particulars, working from his list of decisions made that very day. Usually I would give him a cup of hot chocolate. I would be at work at another system across the room.

On one such occasion I heard Hugh let out a yelp, and turned to see that he had upset the cocoa on the keyboard. I ran and flipped the keyboard over, then unplugged it and put it on top of a towel. I plugged in another keyboard. The computer was still on, and did not object to this plug-and-play operation. Hugh got back to work on the bulletin.

“I thought I had killed the computer!” he said. But after that he placed his hot chocolate on a shelf under the computer desk. I think the Episcopalians pour or sprinkle, rather than baptize by immersion. But it is best not to use any of those methods on computers and keyboards. Prayers for safety may be in order, though.

Dust is an enemy of electronics, just as it has always been a problem for cameras. We are not yet cable free. Computers and printers and digital cameras still have ports. These sometimes seem to stop working for no reason at all. But there may be a reason after all, a mundane, low tech one: dust. Or even goop.

The old compressed air treatment may work—same one we used with our cameras back when the medium was film.

And with power off, everything unplugged, the old swab trick may do the job in some ports. Be gentle, especially with phone and Ethernet modular connections. Use rubbing alcohol (let’s not waste the good vodka)) and swab in and out, not sideways. Let everything dry out an hour or so before connecting and powering up.

I am reminded of Joel Gravitz, who used to build “white box” computers in his shop above the Option House. Usually he was tending the latest Gravitz urchin while working at his craft.

It was Joel’s theory that if he supplied an inquisitive toddler with her own gear to play with, she would leave the rest of the stuff alone. He put an old keyboard onto the high chair tray, and set a derelict PC within her reach. When the little one lubed her keyboard with applesauce, and inserted arrowroot cookies in the disk drives, no harm done.

Trouble was, the little cutie made no distinction between her gear and the other gear in the shop. We could have told him what would happen, right?

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How has your internet access been? And your cable service? I keep hearing from people who have been having many, and sometimes prolonged, interruptions in Zito Media services. I have had a fair amount myself, sometimes having to reboot everything a dozen times a day.

When you have more than fleeting, occasional disruptions in service, you are entitled to ask for some credit on your bill. Also, let the borough officials know about the problems you are having with the company. Zito Media received a very lucrative and valuable exclusive franchise from the borough, and is accountable to the borough.

Don Carley has championed the cause of cable customers, in the past, and I believe he would listen to your complaints. For that matter, call a council member or two, or the borough manager or secretary.